Superhero Film

Superhero sequel "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" soared in its opening weekend to a record-breaking $96.2 million in North America and a worldwide total to date of $303.3 million. The $170-million 3-D film, starring Chris Evans as the shield-bearing superhero and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, is the top April opening of all time and more successful than its 2011 predecessor, "Captain America: The First Avenger," which made $65 million domestically in its first three days.

Superhero sequel "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" soared in its opening weekend to a record-breaking $96.2 million in North America and a worldwide total to date of $303.3 million. The $170-million 3-D film, starring Chris Evans as the shield-bearing superhero and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, is the top April opening of all time and more successful than its 2011 predecessor, "Captain America: The First Avenger," which made $65 million domestically in its first three days.

Early audience tracking told us that "Iron Man 3" was going to be a big hit. But until the numbers started floating through inboxes and Twitter feeds in the past week, it didn't hit home just how big that hit would be. With $175.3 million worth of tickets sold on its first U.S. weekend (the second-highest total in box-office history) and nearly $700 million worldwide in just 10 days of release, the Robert Downey Jr. film is an eye-popping success. The numbers more than validate Marvel Studios' decision to move ahead with a third Tony Stark film, and offer something of a rejoinder to director Jon Favreau, who decided against same.

The stereotypical Sundance movie is thought of as something capital-Q quirky, typically a story of family dysfunction or coming-of-age. This year's festival, across its numerous sections, featured a newfound immersion in genre storytelling that pushed the films to places that were familiar but with unexpected and most welcome twists. Gareth Evans' "The Raid 2," for instance, does for the blood-soaked Asian action film what "The Dark Knight" did for the superhero film, injecting it with a seriousness, a depth of characterization and a scope of storytelling that raises it to a new level of legitimacy.

A shooting at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Col., has left at least 12 dead and 50 wounded, according to authorities, who initially put the number of dead at 14. The violent and chaotic scene in the Denver suburb early Friday morning - you can watch a small piece of it in this amateur video - took place inside a movie theater at the same moments that a shootout was unfolding on screen. In fact, victims at first thought the real-life gunshots were part of the film action, according to reports from inside the theater.

With the exception of 2004, director Christopher Nolan has had a movie come out in every even year dating back to the 1990s. That will continue with his ambitious sci-fi project “Interstellar,” due in November 2014. A random bit of trivia, to be sure, but a timely one as domestic distributor Paramount and worldwide studio Warner Bros. announced he's begun shooting the new film in Alberta. Even before the first camera whirred on, plenty has been written about the project, which concerns a group of human explorers jumping through space.

No film this year faces higher expectations than "The Dark Knight Rises," the ambitious conclusion to Christopher Nolan's pitch-black Batman trilogy. And yet, like the caped crusader himself, Nolan has been known to pull off some pretty remarkable feats - the latest being that "Rises" appears to live up to the hype. The Times' own Kenneth Turan calls "The Dark Knight Rises" a "dazzling conclusion" that "is more than an exceptional superhero movie, it is masterful filmmaking by any standard.

The numbers said "Kick-Ass 2" was going to do just that. Before its theatrical release, audience tracking surveys estimated the superhero action-comedy could gross as much as $25 million its opening weekend. Instead, the sequel took in only $13 million, finishing far behind the civil rights drama "Lee Daniels' The Butler" and earning "Kick-Ass 2" an instant reputation as a flop. For decades, tracking was used by studios to determine filmgoer interest ahead of a new movie's release and tell marketing executives where to spend their ad dollars.

Law enforcement officials plan to continue an undercover presence in Los Angeles-area movie theaters through at least Sunday, as"The Dark Knight Rises"opened to a very strong $249 million worldwide. There was only one reported incident this past weekend after police were posted in local theaters in an effort to reduce anxiety and prevent copycat crimes following Friday's massacre at a showing of the third film in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise in Colorado. A man waiting for the superhero film to begin at an AMC theater in Norwalk was arrested Sunday after fellow patrons reported that he became agitated and said, "I should go off like in Colorado," sheriff's deputies said.

Even with five scantily clad female protagonists and the name brand of director Zack Snyder, the much-hyped "Sucker Punch" was unable to lure the majority of moviegoers away from a mousy kid. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules," the second film in a series based on popular children's novels, grossed $24.4 million in ticket sales, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox. That was a major blow to the much more expensive "Sucker...

The numbers said "Kick-Ass 2" was going to do just that. Before its theatrical release, audience tracking surveys estimated the superhero action-comedy could gross as much as $25 million its opening weekend. Instead, the sequel took in only $13 million, finishing far behind the civil rights drama "Lee Daniels' The Butler" and earning "Kick-Ass 2" an instant reputation as a flop. For decades, tracking was used by studios to determine filmgoer interest ahead of a new movie's release and tell marketing executives where to spend their ad dollars.

With the exception of 2004, director Christopher Nolan has had a movie come out in every even year dating back to the 1990s. That will continue with his ambitious sci-fi project “Interstellar,” due in November 2014. A random bit of trivia, to be sure, but a timely one as domestic distributor Paramount and worldwide studio Warner Bros. announced he's begun shooting the new film in Alberta. Even before the first camera whirred on, plenty has been written about the project, which concerns a group of human explorers jumping through space.

Early audience tracking told us that "Iron Man 3" was going to be a big hit. But until the numbers started floating through inboxes and Twitter feeds in the past week, it didn't hit home just how big that hit would be. With $175.3 million worth of tickets sold on its first U.S. weekend (the second-highest total in box-office history) and nearly $700 million worldwide in just 10 days of release, the Robert Downey Jr. film is an eye-popping success. The numbers more than validate Marvel Studios' decision to move ahead with a third Tony Stark film, and offer something of a rejoinder to director Jon Favreau, who decided against same.

Paramount Pictures has signed a co-production deal with two Chinese entities for its "Transformers 4" and will film part of the action movie in China. Paramount's deal was signed Monday with China Movie Channel, which is operated by the country's State Administration of Radio Film and Television, and Jiaflix Enterprises. As part of the arrangement, the Michael Bay-directed film will include Chinese actors and be partly shot in China. At least some of the project's post-production work could also be done in China. PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments "I look forward to working with China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises to help reach more people here and deepen their passion for this ongoing story and its characters,” Bay said in a statement.

Hollywood is pretty well accustomed to its movies being censored by authorities in China. But in the case of Marvel Studios' forthcoming "Iron Man 3," something close to the opposite of that practice is taking place. On Friday, Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Marvel Studios and Chinese media company DMG announced in a joint statement that a unique version of "Iron Man 3" would be released in China . There, the superhero film will include special bonus footage, including an appearance by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.

The horror film "The Possession" is set to claim the No. 1 spot over the Labor Day weekend, though the most frightening thing at the box office may be poor overall ticket sales. The Sam Raimi-produced scary movie is expected to take in a decent $15 million over the four-day holiday, according to individuals who have seen pre-release audience surveys. "Lawless," a crime drama starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, will have to vie for the runner-up position against "2016: Obama's America," as each is likely to gross around $12 million during the long weekend.

The horror film "The Possession" is set to claim the No. 1 spot over the Labor Day weekend, though the most frightening thing at the box office may be poor overall ticket sales. The Sam Raimi-produced scary movie is expected to take in a decent $15 million over the four-day holiday, according to individuals who have seen pre-release audience surveys. "Lawless," a crime drama starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, will have to vie for the runner-up position against "2016: Obama's America," as each is likely to gross around $12 million during the long weekend.

The stereotypical Sundance movie is thought of as something capital-Q quirky, typically a story of family dysfunction or coming-of-age. This year's festival, across its numerous sections, featured a newfound immersion in genre storytelling that pushed the films to places that were familiar but with unexpected and most welcome twists. Gareth Evans' "The Raid 2," for instance, does for the blood-soaked Asian action film what "The Dark Knight" did for the superhero film, injecting it with a seriousness, a depth of characterization and a scope of storytelling that raises it to a new level of legitimacy.

Law enforcement officials plan to continue an undercover presence in Los Angeles-area movie theaters through at least Sunday, as"The Dark Knight Rises"opened to a very strong $249 million worldwide. There was only one reported incident this past weekend after police were posted in local theaters in an effort to reduce anxiety and prevent copycat crimes following Friday's massacre at a showing of the third film in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise in Colorado. A man waiting for the superhero film to begin at an AMC theater in Norwalk was arrested Sunday after fellow patrons reported that he became agitated and said, "I should go off like in Colorado," sheriff's deputies said.

Though the tragic movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., cast a pall on the opening of"The Dark Knight Rises,"it didn't seem to keep crowds away from the new Batman film this past weekend. The final installment in Christopher Nolan's trilogy grossed about $162 million upon its domestic opening, according to projections from sources in Hollywood. The official estimates that studios typically distribute on Sundays were withheld this week because of the massacre at a post-midnight screening of the superhero film that left 12 dead and dozens more injured.